Through thick and thin, your best friend is right there by your side. Aren’t they?

Clare McMahon used to be a big girl, and if truth be told a bit socially inept. She is shocked when not only does Marianne Dillion take her under her wing when they both start college but also keeps her there. From two different worlds they make the unlikeliest of friends but somehow it just works.
From the very first day they met they became best friends, lived together and shared in each other’s joy, misery and crises. Through 25 years of friendship they thought their friendship was rock solid.

As the unthinkable happens it appears the foundation on which this ‘rock solid’ friendship is based on has a few cracks. As a few home truths are told and old wounds are opened it seems the friendship obviously wasn’t as solid as first thought.

Each has to face the same crisis from a different point of view; will there be a middle ground? Will they both be too stubborn to see the world from another’s eyes, to take others feelings and wishes into consideration? Both families are each going through their own hell. Alone.
Can either of the women put their own feelings aside to help the other?

“How do you get through a catastrophe without your best friend by your side?”

This is the second novel from Sarah Harte. Her first was The Better Half, which led to Harte being labelled as the new Sensation in Irish Fiction.

Thick and Thin did not disappoint. It was both witty and poignant while dealing with issues that are very real. It made for a very interesting read. I often found myself laughing out loud at some of the very clever lines used in the book. I also found myself feeling the true emotion in some of the sadder moments and relating to other events in the story.

Many of the issues tackled in Thick and Thin are the same issues affecting many of the people not only in Ireland today but the world over. It really does go to show that no matter how something looks when you are on the outside looking in, you really never can know what is going on inside closed doors!

Friendships are very important and I think this is true more so for women as they do need an outlet and need to vent on occasion (often), but when your friend is at the other side of the battle line and your family is at threat then the friend has suddenly become the enemy. You know what they say “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. Both Clare and Marianne are about to become that woman and not only by each other but by the men in their lives. I wouldn’t want to get in their way!